My Family, by Kimmie
by zona.shadows
Summary: Teresa and Patrick's daughter has to give a presentation to her first grade class about her family.


When Kimmie Lisbon-Jane first talked to her mother about her homework task for the first grade she had been unsure. She knew she didn't have a lot of family, so completing a family tree and giving a presentation to her class about her family was going to be hard for her. All her grandparents were dead. Aside from her parents and little sister Sammy, her Mommy's brothers and 4 cousins all her blood family was dead.

"My Mommy told me that family isn't about who you are related by blood to," Kimmie started off her presentation to her first grade class on parents day.

"It is about who you have in your heart. Apart from my parents and my little sister most of my blood family is in heaven, my Daddy says he knows my big sister Charlie is looking down on me and Sammy everyday because she would have loved to have a little sister. He also said that Charlie's Mommy would have loved me too because my Mommy and me and Sammy make Daddy happy again. Mommy and Daddy told me that they think that every week in heaven all of our family get together to talk about us, because there are so many of them.

I have 3 uncles that I am related to by blood. They are my Mommy's younger brothers but we don't see them very often because they live in Chicago and whenever they see Mommy they complain that she starts mothering them because she raised them. They all have kids that are a lot older than me, but I've always liked them.

Mommy and Daddy both said I could include anyone that I considered to be family, so I want to include Uncle Cho, Uncle Rigsby and Auntie Gracie. They used to work with Mommy and Daddy before Mommy and Daddy got together, and they helped Daddy find the person who murdered my big sister Charlie and her Mommy Angie. Uncle Rigsby and Auntie Gracie have 2 kids Ben and Maddy and we love to play together. They are my cousins even though we aren't really related. Uncle Cho doesn't have kids, Daddy says he is a workaholic and is too ingrained in his lifestyle to find a meaningful relationship. Mommy told Daddy off for saying that.

Mommy and Daddy both told me that it is important that Sammy and I realise that we were named after important and amazing people. I was named after Uncle Cho, and he is my godfather. Mommy said that they did that because no matter what he would always protect me. Sammy is named after Mommy's old boss who was murdered by the same person who murdered Charlie and Angie. Mommy said that his last words to her before he died were to tell her that he loved her and she wanted her friend to be remembered. Daddy agreed and said something about Mommy loving Daddy more than her old boss because of the blackmail but I don't know what he was talking about.

My family is more about choice than about about blood, that's what my Mommy told me and I am happy to choose all the people in my family because I think they are the best people ever."

Teresa Lisbon and Patrick Jane sat in the back of their oldest daughter's classroom watching and listening to her give a presentation about her family. Kimmie inherited all of Patrick's ability to tell a story that captivated the audience and perform. Teresa didn't know whether she should be amused or annoyed that her daughter was airing all of the families deep dark secrets to a class full of first graders and their parents but Patrick didn't have any such decision, he was trying not to chuckle beside her at the matter-of-fact manner that their daughter tells the stories of all the dead people in their lives. Most of the other parents were either looking sympathetically at Teresa and Patrick or horrified that a 6 year old would be talking about this. How unusual.

Later on when the child went outside for recess the parents started descending on Teresa and Patrick trying to decipher the truth from the 6 year old's imagination.

Teresa and Patrick had been fending off the questions admirably the only way they knew how, by not answering until one question popped up.

"Don't you think it is a bit morbid for a 6 year old to know that most of her family is dead?" One parent asked Teresa in the most snobby tone that Teresa had heard in years.

"What am I supposed to tell her? That the people whose pictures we put around the house are people that are going to visit? That they came with the photo frames? That Mommy and Daddy are sad on certain dates because something happened at work. She is 6, she is observant enough to ask questions when she realises that these things happen on the same day every year. We celebrate Charlie's birthday, like Patrick and I have always done since I've known him. It isn't anything special but it is a day that Patrick gets to tell his daughters about their sister that they never met. That day is more special to us than anything else and I wouldn't change the way I spent it with my daughters for anything in the world."

The other parents just stare at Teresa as she walks back to Patrick sitting next to him.

"Next time," Patrick says quietly to her. "Remember that there are other birthdays that we celebrate too."

Teresa turns to glare at him, while Patrick smiles back and puts her arm around her shoulders.

"I love you too, Teresa." Patrick smiles at her continued glare.

Teresa smiles back at him.

* * *

A/N: So I was rewatching The Mentalist recently and I thought about what their kid would be like and how their family would be... This is what I came up with.


End file.
